How to Check If Your H-1B Is Revoked: Grace Period and Appeals

To check if your H-1B is revoked, enter the receipt number from your I-797 Notice of Action into the USCIS Case Status Online tool at uscis.gov. A revocation shows up as an update in your case history. That check answers the immediate question, but it rarely tells the whole story: your employer filed the petition, so they usually learn about a revocation before you do, and in many cases their own actions caused it. Knowing how the different types of revocation work, what notices to expect, and what you can do inside the grace period matters just as much as the status check itself.

Check Your Case Status Online

USCIS offers a free tool that shows the current status of any petition. You need the receipt number from your I-797, a 13-character code starting with three letters (EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC, NBC, MSC, or IOE) followed by ten numbers. Enter it without dashes, and the system displays the last action taken along with any next step.¹ A revocation should appear in the case history, though there can be a delay between the internal USCIS decision and when the online record catches up.

If the online tool is unclear or shows nothing recent, you can also call the USCIS Contact Center or request an InfoPass appointment to ask about your case directly. Your I-94 record at i94.cbp.dhs.gov will not tell you whether the petition was revoked, but it does confirm the date your authorized stay was set to expire, which becomes important for calculating your grace period.²

Ask Your Employer Directly

Your employer filed the Form I-129 petition that gave you H-1B status, so they are usually the first to know about any change.³ Federal regulations require an employer to notify USCIS immediately of any change that could affect your eligibility. If they no longer employ you, they must send a letter to the USCIS director who approved the petition, and that notification alone automatically revokes the approval.⁴

If you suspect your employer has withdrawn your petition, ask in writing. You deserve a clear answer because the clock on every option below starts running the day your paid employment ends. The Department of Labor treats a termination as valid when the employer notifies USCIS, requests cancellation of the petition, and pays reasonable return transportation costs if the termination was involuntary and happened before the H-1B validity period ended.⁵ Until the employer completes those steps, they may still owe you wages for the intervening nonproductive time.

Look for a Notice from USCIS

When USCIS revokes on its own initiative rather than in response to an employer withdrawal, it sends a Notice of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) in writing to both the petitioner and the beneficiary. The NOIR explains the specific grounds and gives the petitioner time to respond. If you receive one, that is the most definitive confirmation possible that a revocation is underway.

Automatic revocations often do not generate the same kind of detailed letter. When your employer withdraws the petition or reports your termination, USCIS may simply update the case status without sending you a separate notice. That gap is why the online check and a direct conversation with your employer both matter. Silence from USCIS is not proof that everything is fine.

The Two Types of Revocation and Why It Matters

Not every revocation works the same way, and the type determines whether you have any right to challenge it.

Automatic Revocation

Your H-1B approval is immediately and automatically revoked if the employer goes out of business, files a written withdrawal, has its underlying labor condition application revoked by the Department of Labor, or notifies USCIS that you are no longer employed.⁴ There is no hearing, no notice period, no response window. It takes effect the moment USCIS receives the triggering event, and it cannot be appealed to the Administrative Appeals Office.

Revocation on Notice

When USCIS itself finds a problem with the petition, it must issue a NOIR before revoking. Grounds include facts in the petition being untrue, the employer violating the terms of the approval, gross error in the original approval, or the worker no longer performing in the capacity the petition described.⁴ The petitioner has up to 30 days to respond, with 3 additional days if the notice was mailed, and 14 more if the petitioner is outside the United States.⁶ A revocation on notice can be appealed if the rebuttal fails.

Your 60-Day Grace Period

If the revocation is tied to the end of your employment, you are not expected to leave overnight. Federal regulations provide up to 60 consecutive days of continued nonimmigrant status, or until your authorized validity period expires, whichever comes first.⁷ The grace period starts the day after your last day of paid employment, and it applies whether you were fired or resigned.

A few limits: you cannot work during the grace period unless you have separate work authorization, you only get one grace period per validity period, and USCIS can shorten or eliminate it, though that is uncommon. Inside those 60 days you have four realistic options:

Have a new H-1B employer file a petition on your behalf.
File a change of status to another nonimmigrant category, such as F-1 or B-2.
File an adjustment of status if you have an approved immigrant petition and a visa number available.
Leave the United States before the grace period ends.

Doing nothing is the worst outcome. Once the grace period expires without a pending application, you begin accruing unlawful presence.⁸

Moving to a New H-1B Employer

H-1B portability is the single most useful tool after a revocation tied to employment loss. Under INA section 214(n), you can begin working for a new employer as soon as that employer files a nonfrivolous I-129 on your behalf, or on the requested start date, whichever is later. Approval before you start is not required.⁹

Three conditions have to be met: you were lawfully admitted in H-1B status, the new petition is filed before your authorized stay expires, and you have not worked without authorization since your last admission.⁹ That last requirement is why you must stop working immediately when your employment ends and not begin work for anyone new until a petition has been filed.

If the 60-day grace period runs out before the new employer files, portability is lost. The new petition should include a cover letter explaining the timeline and asking USCIS to recognize the grace period; USCIS evaluates that during adjudication.⁸

What Happens to Your Family

Your H-4 dependents’ status is tied to yours. Their authorized stay generally lasts only as long as your H-1B status, so a revocation affects them on the same timeline.¹⁰ The 60-day grace period covers them too, and if your spouse holds an H-4 employment authorization document, it remains valid during that window.⁸ When a new H-1B petition or change of status is filed, make sure your dependents are included so their status is preserved alongside yours.

Fighting a Revocation

Your options depend on which type of revocation occurred. If it was automatic, there is no appeal, and your energy is better spent on a new petition than on trying to revive the old one. If it was on notice, there are three routes.

The first is the rebuttal to the NOIR itself, filed within the 30-day window (33 if mailed). This is the best chance to stop the revocation from ever becoming final. Your employer files the response as the petitioner, but you should be involved in gathering documentation.⁶

The second is a motion to reopen or reconsider, filed on Form I-290B within 30 days of the unfavorable decision. A motion to reopen presents new evidence; a motion to reconsider argues that USCIS misapplied the law to the existing record.¹¹

The third is an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office, also filed on Form I-290B, within 30 calendar days of personal service or 33 if mailed.¹² The filing fee is $800.¹³ Only the petitioner can file; beneficiaries generally cannot file appeals or motions on their own.¹⁴ If your employer withdrew the petition or went out of business, they have no incentive to appeal, which is another reason portability usually matters more than litigation.

What Overstaying Costs You

Once your authorized stay and any grace period expire, you start accruing unlawful presence, and the penalties get worse the longer you remain:

More than 180 days but less than a year, followed by a voluntary departure: a three-year bar on returning to the United States.¹⁵
One year or more, followed by departure: a ten-year bar.¹⁵
More than one year of unlawful presence total, then reentry without inspection: permanent inadmissibility, with very limited waiver options.¹⁵

These bars are triggered when you next seek admission, not while you remain inside the country. If nothing else works before the grace period runs out, leaving voluntarily is almost always safer than staying and hoping.

What Your Employer Still Owes You

If you were terminated involuntarily before the end of your H-1B validity period, your employer is required to pay the reasonable cost of transportation back to your home country or last country of residence. The obligation does not cover dependents or personal belongings and only applies to a permanent return rather than a temporary trip.⁵ Refusal to pay is a violation you can raise with the Department of Labor.

You may also be owed wages for periods when the employer stopped assigning you work but never formally notified USCIS or completed a bona fide termination. Until those steps are taken, the employment relationship is still legally live for wage purposes, and an immigration or employment attorney can help you evaluate whether you have a wage claim in addition to your status concerns.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online
2
I-94/I-95 Website – Official Site for Travelers Visiting the United States. Travel Record for U.S. Visitors
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
4
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.2 – Special Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
5
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. Fact Sheet 62I – Must an H-1B Employer Pay for Nonproductive Time
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part E Chapter 10 – Post-Decision Actions
7
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.1 – Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment
9
eCFR. 8 CFR Part 214 – Nonimmigrant Classes
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status
11
eCFR. 8 CFR 103.5 – Reopening or Reconsideration
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Appeals
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Appeals of Denied Petitions Under the Jurisdiction of the Administrative Appeals Office by Form Number
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility